Adventures of a Barista
by jojo.saltzman
Summary: AU: Beca hated Saturday's night shift. The coffee house was empty and she had nothing to do. Until Chloe walked in.


**Hey guys :) saw this prompt online, thought I'd give it a try. Hope you like it.**

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Beca hated Saturday's shift.

And what she hated even more was Saturday's _night_ shift. She couldn't understand the need of people wondering around New York city at the crack of dawn and why they needed coffee at that hour. She should be in bed or in front of her computer working tirelessly on her mixes that will eventually make her quit this job as barista at one of the millions of Starbucks that were open through the night.

It's not that she didn't like people - she didn't - but the thought of wasting her time serving people coffee instead of working on her future frustrated her. But she needed the money to survive long enough to achieve _that_ future. So, she sucked it up and worked.

And that was what she did on a Saturday night, close to three o'clock in the morning. The place was deserted, few people actually walking by the payment outside the windows but Beca didn't mind. She liked the quiet and if it meant she didn't have to work but still got paid was the best deal ever, in her opinion.

She was dwindling with her phone to pass the time sitting behind the counter when the bell above the door rang suddenly. She flinched at the unexpected sound and cursed under her breath. She hated that fucking thing. It was so annoying when the place was stacked, ringing nonstop while several people walked in and out.

She shook off her annoyance - her boss had to warn her to smile at the costumers or she fires her - and stood up, expecting a drunk underage teen that only drank coffee to seem mature and impress his friends.

But her eyebrows frowned when a woman strode up to her elegantly, red hair floating down her shoulders to an expensive looking grey suit. Her make-up was smudged a little under her eyes but Beca honestly almost couldn't see it, strangely captured by the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

Realizing she was gaping slightly, she closed her mouth and tried to focus on the words the woman was saying.

"Hi, can I get a caramel macchiato with soy milk, please?"

Beca silently nodded and somehow forgo the habit of mocking the costumers' choices inside her head and instead started preparing the drink. When the beverage was in the mixer, only the soy milk was missing, Beca made the mistake of looking back behind her shoulder.

The redhead was patiently waiting in her spot but pulled out a carry-on mirror from her purse and checked her appearance, a slight frown visible on her forehead as she tried to fix her mascara with her fingers.

Beca wasn't even aware of the words coming out her mouth.

"You look fine."

The girl snapped back her head and looked at Beca surprisingly.

 _Fuck, why did I say that?_ Beca thought as an awkward silence fell around them. She chastised herself as she quickly turned back and finished the drink quickly, putting it on the counter.

The girl glanced down at the cup before lifting her gaze up. "Thanks…for the compliment. I had a long day. I just wanted to fix," she gestured all over her face, "all of this."

Beca scoffed. "It's three am, nobody looks good in this hour."

The girl in front of her laughed softly at her joke and her smile was infectious.

"You're right. It's a lost cause." The girl joked back but for some reason Beca wanted to correct her. She looked better than any people the barista had seen during this particular shift.

"Are you a lawyer?" Beca asked quickly. Why did she make her twitchy?

The redhead didn't answer right away but tilted her head to the right, an amusing but surprising glint shone in her eyes. Making Beca back-paddle.

"I - I just…I thought with your suit - never mind. It's none of my business. Sorry." She rambled, ringing up her order in the cashier, avoiding eye contact furiously.

"I'm a vet, actually."

Beca glanced up curiously.

"I didn't know vets worked that late." She commented as the cashier beeped. The girl pulled out few dollar bills and handed them over to pay for her drink.

She grinned. "Normally they don't but I'm in the early stages of becoming one. I had some paperwork left to do before I could go home."

Beca nodded absentmindedly and tried to hand back the change but the girl raised her hand to stop her.

"Please, keep it."

Beca grimaced and put the money back, palms resting on the counter. "Thanks."

Silence embraced them as Beca waited for her to leave - there was nothing else left to do - but the girl didn't move, a fond smile grazing her lips.

Beca grew self-conscious under her gaze and bashfully lowered her chin. "What?"

The girl giggled and Beca narrowed her eyes. "You forgot to ask for my name."

"Oh." Beca shook her head and grabbed one of the many sharpies they kept beside the cashier and reached for the girl's drink. Holding it in one hand, Beca glanced up.

"What's your name?"

"Chloe."

Beca drew in a quiet breath - of course, her name was as pretty as she was - and quickly scribbled down the name on the white surface of the cup. When she handed it back, their fingers brushed for a millisecond but Beca quickly pulled back.

"So…I guess, I see you later," Chloe leaned slightly closer to see the barista's name tag, "Beca."

"Umm, yeah." Beca mumbled as Chloe sent her a lasting smile and walked out of the door.

Beca sucked in a deep breath as her eyes followed the girl. She turned around to clean up and saw the regular milk carton on the counter.

 _Great,_ she thought, _she distracted me enough to mess up her drink._

Suddenly feeling like the air was stuffy and she couldn't quite catch her breath, she grabbed the pack of cigarettes she hid inside one of the shelf and decided to take a five minute break to clear her head. The store would be fine.

She didn't understand the way she reacted to Chloe or why she wanted to call out and stop her from leaving. Shaking her head to quiet down the stupid noises in her head, she opened the back door and walked out into the dark valley where they took out the trash. She sighed as she crunched down against the wall and locked a cigarette between her lips. As she was reaching for the lighter in her pocket, she heard muffled screaming from the street.

She instantly became hyper aware of her surroundings as she straightened up and looked around. Her heartbeat spiked up as the sound drew closer and closer to where she was but she still couldn't see anything. She was ready to reach for her phone and call 911 when something caught her eye.

It was red hair.

 _Fuck, it was Chloe._

With a man behind her, his palm covering her mouth and Beca could see the tears and fright in her eyes. She dropped the cup of coffee Beca made for her five minutes ago.

Frozen in place, Beca watched as the guy released Chloe and shoved her to the wall. Chloe cried out for help.

"Shut the fuck up! Give me your wallet!" The guy screamed aggressively, hovering over her frame threateningly. Beca swallowed when Chloe didn't react right away and the guy quickly pulled out a pocket knife and point it at the girl.

"What did I say?! Give me your wallet, bitch!"

When Beca caught the glimpse of the blade, she took a deep breath and as quietly as possible started to sneak up towards them, making sure she was out of the guy's sight. She wasn't thinking, she didn't have time. Fortunately, he was so occupied watching Chloe fiddle with her purse that he didn't notice her until Beca was two steps behind his back.

Chloe took too long so the guy wretched her purse from her hands making Chloe jump and fall to the ground. Beca waited for the perfect moment and it came when the robber - stupidly- decided to go through the purse with both hands, momentarily took her eyes and focus off his target.

That's when Beca drew her leg back and with as much strength as she had, kicked the guy in the groin from behind. The guy cried out, dropping the items from his hands as he fell to his knees. Chloe watched in bewilderment as Beca didn't waste a second and punched him hard against his jawline. But he was bigger and stronger. He quickly recovered and grabbed Beca around her waist, pulling her down on the ground and started wrestling with the petit woman.

Chloe scream loudly. "Help! Somebody help! Beca!"

Beca couldn't hear anything because of the blood rushing to her brain, adrenaline cruising through her veins as she tried to get out of the strong hold the man held her in.

He took advantage of their physical differences as he finally pinned her down and straddled her hips. He punched her painfully in the face and she grew dizzy from the blow. Smiling wickedly, he leaned sideways and grabbed the knife from the ground.

"You little, bitch!" He said as he stabbed the blade into her arm. Beca screamed in pain as the knife torn through her muscles. White spots appeared in front of her eyes as she suddenly grew tired and stopped fighting, going limp on the ground. She never felt more pain in her life.

She blinked rapidly to try and clear her vision, to fight back before he actually killed her.

Her body twitched uncontrollably when suddenly she heard a loud clank and the weight disappeared from her body. She tilted her head and saw Chloe standing over her holding one of the small trashcans in her arms and intensively watching the man trying to regain his balance.

Beca wanted to laugh at the fact that Chloe hit him with the trashcan but she didn't have the energy.

The man stood up, baring his teeth at Chloe but when he took a step towards her, loud sirens shrieked through the night.

Beca was sighed in relief. Somebody called the police.

The man's eyes grew in fear and he bolted quickly, leaving behind everything he so desperately wanted ten minutes ago. Chloe dropped her weapon and the loud noise made Beca flinch.

The redhead fell onto her knees beside her body and hesitated before putting both of her hands on the bleeding wound.

"It's gonna be okay. You're going to be okay." She repeated over and over again soothingly but Beca heard the fear undertone. "Just hold on. Help is coming."

Beca nodded tiredly and grinned.

Chloe shook her head. "You are so stupid. Why did you do that?!"

Beca laughed softly. "I messed up your order. I had to make it up to you."

Chloe paused before a disbelieving laugh left her mouth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She saw red and blue pulsing on the walls as the police arrived.

Chloe lowered her forehead against Beca's and whispered.

"You saved my life. We're even."


End file.
